As part of our contribution to the wider discussion of what sort of society we are ai campaigning to replace capitalism, with its wage slavery and its other forms of exploitation and oppression, we are posting this review of Martin Hägglund’s This Life, Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom by Peter Hudis of the International Marxist Humanist…
Not guilty – Bristol jury finds that defendants were justified in toppling slave trader statue
At a time when there is not much to be cheerful about, the Bristol jury’s decision to find the four accused of toppling the statue of Bristol slaver, Edward Colston, not guilty, has been widely celebrated. This article by Tom Anderson was first posted on The Canary blog. NOT GUILTY: BRISTOL JURY FINDS THAT…
Summit of democracy? – Susan Pashkoff takes a critical look at rising authoritarianism in Britain and the US
There have been some on the Left who have viewed the election of Joe Biden as a return to Neo-liberalism, after a temporary Right Populist hiatus under Donald Trump. However, such has been the post-2008 crisis of Neo-liberalism that its one-time advocates have had to abandon any real commitment to the limited of extension of democracy…
A Crime Against Humanity: The ‘Greenwash Festival’ of COP26
The following article on the Cop26 UN climate conference being held in Glasgow first appeared on Media Lens. A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY: THE ‘GREENWASH’ FESTIVAL OF COP26 One of the most damning assessments of COP26, the UN climate conference being held in Glasgow, came from Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist: ‘#COP26 has been named…
The need to challenge the Populist Right’s “culture war” warriors
The Populist Right is trying to roll back the gains made the Black Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Movement, the Gay Movement and is trying to prevent Gender Self Determination being legalised. Central to their strategy are attempts to a play one group of oppressed against another. This has led to the emergence of what…
What does the union flag tell us about the UK?
Allan Armstrong has rewritten the introduction to the first part of his book, From Pre-Brit to Ex-Brit. In this he takes a closer look at the history of the UK’s Union Flag. WHAT DOES THE UNION FLAG TELL US ABOUT THE UK? Today, even the United Kingdom’s most diehard defenders realise their state may not…
Manufacturing ignorance: keeping the public away from power
The following article was first posted by Media Lens. MANUFACTURING IGNORANCE: KEEPING THE PUBLIC AWAY FROM POWER In their classic book on the news media, ‘Manufacturing Consent’, Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky presented a ‘propaganda model’ of how the major broadcasters and newspapers operate. Whereas the ‘mainstream’ media declare that their aim is to educate,…
Gaslighting the public: serial deceptions by the state-corporate media
The following article on the role of political journalists in the state media was first posted by media lens GASLIGHTING THE PUBLIC: SERIAL DECEPTION BY THE STATE-CORPORATE MEDIA During last week’s Tory Cabinet reshuffle, ITV political editor Robert Peston inadvertently summed up the primary function of political journalists: ‘I simply pass on’ His tweet was in reference…
Lessons from the Bund: A Socialist, Anti-Zionist, Jewish Movement
This article on the Jewish Socialist and Labour movement, the Bund, by Frankie Levine, was first posted by Left Voice (USA). LESSONS FROM THE BUND: A SOCIALIST ANTI-ZIONIST, JEWISH MOVEMENT When Zionists argue that anti-Zionism is equal to antisemitism, they gloss over the rich and deep history of the anti-Zionist movement in Jewish civil society.…
Afghan and Kurdish women revolutionaries urge joined up global resistance
The following article outlining the links being made between the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan and the Kurdish Confederation of Women’s Organisations in the aftermath of the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban was first posted on The Canary website. AFGHAN AND KURDISH WOMEN REVOLUTIONARIES URGE JOINED-UP GLOBAL RESISTANCE Following misogynistic Donald…